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1 of 7Bill Burke built his pioneering, belly tank-based hot rod in 1946. This accurate tribute recreates the vehicle, which has been missing for over half a century.

Photo by Geoff Hacker

2 of 7Since completing the rod in 2009, Geoff Hacker has exhibited it at Bonneville, entered it in the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and seen it featured in Rodder's Journal and other enthusiast publications.

Photo by Geoff Hacker

3 of 7Because the original belly tanker changed configuration often, Hacker considers his version a "tribute" rather than a replica.

Photo by Geoff Hacker

4 of 7The tribute is currently listed for sale at Vintage Motors of Sarasota, Fla. for just under $60,000.

Photo by Geoff Hacker

5 of 7As in the original, the belly tank used as the rod's body affords barely enough room to squeeze in a flathead Ford V8 engine.

Photo by Geoff Hacker

6 of 7No creature comforts here: this car was built for speed alone.

Photo by Geoff Hacker

7 of 7A brave driver pilots the vehicle with this rudimentary "wheel."

Photo by Geoff Hacker

Hot rods and customs come in an infinite range of shapes, styles and sizes. But of all the T-buckets, highboys and rat rods raising hell on the road, nothing expresses the “function over form” ethos more clearly than the classic belly tanker.

Following the conclusion of World War II, the west's wide open dry lakebeds and salt flats tempted a growing number gearheads to push the envelope of speed. A peculiar sort of rod—the belly tank lakester, or belly tanker—evolved to meet the challenges of high velocity. The Model T frame was its natural foundation. Power would come from—what else—a flathead Ford V8. But what to do for a body?

So-called “belly tanks” used to extend aircraft range seemed like a natural choice: they were streamlined, available as surplus following the conclusion of WWII and most importantly, just big enough to cram a V8 into. You won't find any ZZ Top-fantasy metalwork on a belly tanker: they're built for pure speed.

In 1946, hot-rodder Bill Burke was the first to pilot a belly tanker across California's El Mirage lake bed. Built in a car port, the rod came, left its mark, and went, before the emergence of popular enthusiast magazines (Hot Rod, for example, was first published in 1948). Burke soon replaced it with another rod built around a larger belly tank. The original has been missing for half a century, and most of its components probably found homes in other vehicles shortly after it was retired.

But the historic belly tanker now lives on in a “tribute” vehicle created by Geoff Hacker of Tampa, Fla.

Hacker, a college professor and proprietor of the automotive history Web site Forgotten Fiberglass, had the vehicle built at the suggestion of Bill Burke himself.

Despite the use of period parts, Hacker calls it a tribute rather than a replica because the original vehicle was constantly modified; photos of the vehicle rarely showed it in the same configuration twice. A handful of period photos and testimony from driver Ken Crawford led to “as authentic a tribute as possible.”

Since completing the tribute in 2009, Hacker has displayed it at a range of shows from Bonneville Speed week to the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. It was even featured in issue No. 48 of Rodder's Journal.

He's now selling the car, which was recently featured on Bring a Trailer.com. If you're interested in learning more about the car, check it out at Vintage Motors in Sarasota, Fla., where it's currently listed for $59,900.

The salt flats have seen many faster cars since Burke first ran his pioneering belly tanker in 1946, but it's inspiring to know that his work has survived—spiritually, at least—in a respectful, accurate tribute. We hope that the tanker's future owner isn't afraid to head out to the nearest lakebed, strap on a pair of goggles and make that flathead V8 sing once again.

Graham Kozak
- Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they're doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too.
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